Suggested Activities for Chapter 12
- Have students analyze Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, marking examples of any language that strikes them as effective. Ask students to review the words and phrases; to identify if they are aspects of language discussed in class, such as simile, metaphor, or repetition; and to explain why those language choices are powerful.
- Have students bring in product advertisements containing catchy slogans. Request that students analyze these slogans to determine how advertisers use language to get consumers to associate products with certain connotations. Highlight slogans that use vivid language, simile, metaphor, or repetition effectively.
- Put students in three groups and assign each group one of the three creative expression concepts: (1) repetition (repeating the point just made, coming back to a point later in the speech, and rewording a point), (2) examples (hypothetical and personal), and (3) vivid language (imagery, metaphor, and simile). Assign all groups the same speech topic and ask them to create appropriate illustrations of how their concept could be used in that speech. After this activity you may want to ask students what lessons they learned about creative language use.
- This activity is inspired by the “Abstract and Concrete Word Choice” illustration on page 348. Give each student a few abstract words and ask him or her to generate a concrete word for each. If you give students the same list of abstract words, you can compare their corresponding concrete words in discussion. Note: The “JFK” activity on pages 248–49 should be collected so that you can tally the bits of language students choose.